Michael Porter Jr. plays person in NBA 2K and accepts person's shoes as part of bet

Michael Porter Jr. challenged a man to play the NBA 2K video game and after winning, he accepted the man’s shoes. (AP Photo)

Michael Porter Jr. has not been playing actual basketball lately. He has not posted Instagram videos of workouts. He did not participate in NBA Summer League. But he has been playing virtual basketball.

Gomez messaged Porter and offered to play for his UNC White Jordan 1 sneakers. An aside: Those sneakers are worth $800, those sneakers were not Porter’s size and those sneakers could not be worn publicly by Porter, who endorses Puma.

“They sent us to his apartment building, his little brother and sister were the only other people there,” Gomez told SB Nation. “It was me and my cousin… When we got into the building he told us the wrong room, so we called him, and he told us to walk right in, door unlocked and everything. He was pretty nice but was focused on playing his brother in 2K which was for $20. I told him on Twitter that I’d be betting the shoes, so he knew but he said he can’t even wear them, so it was a little pointless to put them up for grabs. What was strange was he didn’t want to bet what the shoes were worth, which is $800, he only wanted to wager $100.”

Gomez told SB Nation he plays 2K often. He said he’d lost maybe five times all year, so he was confident. He chose the Boston Celtics. Porter chose the Washington Wizards. The game was tied at halftime, but Porter grabbed a lead in the third quarter.

The former Missouri forward who sat the majority of the 2017-18 season after undergoing a first back surgery and who was selected with the No. 14 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft won the game.

Afterwards, he took the sneakers.

“He said he kinda felt bad about taking (the shoes), but I said it was worth it just to hang out with him,” Gozen said. “I haven’t really decided yet [if it was worth it], but I think eventually I’ll see this as a positive.”